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A member of congress takes a photo with President Donald Trump after the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump shakes hands with members of congress after delivering the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump talks with members of congress after delivering the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

North Korean defector Ji Seong-Ho stands after President Donald Trump acknowledged him during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Cindy and Fred Warmbier, the parents of Otto Wambier, stand after President Donald Trump acknowledged them during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Members of President Trump's cabinet applaud Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Staff Sgt. Justin Peck stands as he is acknowledged by President Donald Trump during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan applaud Staff Sgt. Justin Peck during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Officer Ryan Holets and his wife Rebecca stand next to First Lady Melania Trump as they are acknowledged by President Donald Trump during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

Donald Trump, Jr., and Tiffany Trump applaud as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Corey Adams stands after being acknowledged by Donald Trump during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent CJ Martinez stands as he is acknowledged by President Trump during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Guests of President Donald Trump, Elizabeth Alvarado, Evelyn Rodriguez, and Freddy Cuevas stand as they are acknowledged by President Trump during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. They are the parents of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas, who were murdered by MS-13 gang members in Sept. 2016. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

First Lady Melania Trump acknowledges Evelyn Rodriguez, and Freddy Cuevas during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. They are the parents of Kayla Cuevas, who was murdered by MS-13 gang members in Sept. 2016. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, applauds as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

Sen. Corey Booker, D-N.J., center listens as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Second Lady Karen Pence greets Coast Guard Petty Officer Ashlee Leppert before Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., listen as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Preston Sharp smiles as he is acknowledged by President Donald Trump during the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Sharp was visiting his veteran grandfather's grave in 2015 when he noticed that other local veterans were not being honored with American flags or flowers. To date, he has organized the placement of more than 40,000 American flags and red carnations on soldiers' graves. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience before delivering the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump greets House Speaker Paul Ryan before delivering the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience before delivering the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump greets members of congress before delivering the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

Members of congress gather before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Attorney General of the United States Jeff Session is seen before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

First Lady Melania Trump is seen before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

First Lady Melania Trump is seen before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

From left, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch are seen before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Vice President Mike Pence greets members of congress before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Jared Kushner, senior advisor to President Trump and Trump's son-in-law, and Ivanka Trump, advisor to President Trump and Trump's daughter, are seen before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Guests of President Donald Trump, from left, Robert Mickens, Elizabeth Alvarado, Evelyn Rodriguez, and Freddy Cuevas are seen before President Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. The four are the parents of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas murdered by MS-13 gang members in Sept. 2016. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., left, waits for President Donald Trump to deliver the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Guests of President Donald Trump, David Dahlberg, left, and Jon Bridgers, right, speak before President Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Dahlberg fire prevention technician in southern California. He saved 62 children and staff members in July 2017 from a raging wildfire that encircled their camp. Jon Bridgers founded the Cajun Navy 2016, a non-profit rescue and recovery organization that responded to the 2016 flooding in south Louisiana and 2017's Hurricane Harvey in Texas. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

Democratic members of congress wear sashes representing countries that President Donald Trump reportedly demeaned ahead of the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington. Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has lit a fuse to ideological dynamite trapped between some liberal Americans’ earlobes: he praised President Donald Trump on an immigration topic.

What the Republican Alexander said – and Trump’s remarks – may pop some conservative heads as well.

In politics, such is often the price of progress.

Alexander, appearing Jan. 25 on Fox News' Outnumbered Overtime with Harris Faulkner, was asked to respond to Trump’s comments on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump indicated openness to discussing a path to citizenship over 10-to-12 years for certain children illegally in the country and expanding to 1.8 million the number of potential participants.

Said Alexander, “First: The president’s statement is a positive movement. That is real presidential leadership. I said to the president earlier this year, ‘Mr. President, President Bush couldn’t do it, President Obama couldn’t do it, they both tried. You could do it. You could be Nixon to China on immigration.’ This isn’t something that the Nashville City Council can solve or the state can solve, the president and the Congress have to create a legal immigration system and you can do it, and I think his comments yesterday are an important part of presidential leadership to solve the problem…Yes, I welcome the president’s comments.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, speaks with reporters during a vote on the confirmation of Samuel Brownback, governor of Kansas and a former U.S. senator, to become the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

DACA began during the Obama administration. Beneficiaries are often called “Dreamers,” as in dreaming of a better life. CNN describes DACA in this way: “To be eligible, applicants had to have arrived in the US before age 16 and have lived there since June 15, 2007. They could not have been older than 30 when the Department of Homeland Security enacted the policy in 2012.”

There are immigrants benefiting from DACA who are indeed dreaming of a better life. There are some, unfortunately, who are nightmares, and are committing violent crimes.

This is a problem in search of a solution, as is illegal immigration generally, as an American political leader once forcefully explained:

"The American people are a welcoming and generous people. But those who enter our country illegally, and those who employ them, disrespect the rule of law. And because we live in an age where terrorists are challenging our borders, we simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, and unchecked. Americans are right to demand better border security and better enforcement of the immigration laws."

The speaker: Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, in an April 3, 2006, senate floor speech on immigration. But that was then.

In remarks on April 24, 2017, to a group of students at the University of Chicago, Obama, now a former president, demonstrated the competing thoughts he’s had on the subject: “For those who are concerned about undocumented workers coming in, it’s important for them to appreciate the degree to which overwhelmingly these are families who are just looking for a better life for their children.”

Today, Americans are called anti-immigrant – and worse - when they take positions similar to Obama’s when he talked about respect for law, not allowing undocumented immigrants to pour across the border, and better security and immigration law enforcement.

Such political schizophrenia is one of the reasons why on the immigration issue Americans feel yanked around like a rag doll caught between two kids.

Sen. Alexander and a bipartisan group of senators are talking about how to move forward on the whole DACA mess, over which the government shut down for three days in January.

But rational political thinkers know that politics requires compromise, as this leader explained: ''Die-hard conservatives thought that if I couldn't get everything I asked for, I should jump off the cliff with the flag flying - go down in flames. No, if I can get 70 or 80 percent of what it is I'm trying to get, yes I'll take that and then continue to try to get the rest in the future. And maybe it's easier to get it as they see that this works. And this was what they were critical of. They couldn't stand it that I would compromise and settle for less than I'd ask.'' – President Ronald Reagan.

In politics at any level you can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need. It’s the art of compromise, even if it does cause some heads, figuratively speaking, to go boom.

George Korda is political analyst for WATE-TV, appearing Sundays on “Tennessee This Week.” He hosts “State Your Case” from noon – 2 p.m. Sundays on WOKI-FM Newstalk 98.7. Korda is a frequent speaker and writer on political and news media subjects. He is president of Korda Communications, a public relations and communications consulting firm.